The Rise of Vlad (The Seeker Series Book 3)

by Ditter Kellen

  “I sure have.”

  “Really? What did he say?”

  “He said for me to tell my daughter to stop peeing in the water where his kids play.”

  Her mother’s tinkering laughter echoed through her heart as she fought the tide in search of the sandbar.

  Abbie’s arms eventually grew weary and her lungs began to burn, leaving her no choice but to kick her way up for air.

  Her head broke the surface to a wall of water so high it blocked out the sun. She opened her mouth to scream a second before a powerful wave crashed down on top of her, taking her back under.

  Her body spun head over heels along the gulf floor, leaving her powerless to stop the undertow. Panic gripped her as sand scraped her face, entering her mouth and eyes. The need to breathe became too strong, and Abbie gave up the fight. Pain. Darkness.

  * * * *

  Cold. Abbie felt chilled to her bones. Her chest burned, and something was caught in her throat. A spasm gripped her, and she heaved.

  A voice she didn’t recognize. She screamed for someone to help her, to remove the heaviness from her neck.

  Something slid along her arms to her hands. Tingling warmth. Heat spread out from her palms through her stomach and legs. The shivering stopped.

  “Salutem.” The strange word came from a deep voice above her. Was she dead?

  She slowly lifted her heavy lids and stared up into the brilliant green gaze of a teenage boy. His eyes were a color she’d never seen before, resembling a few of the marbles she’d been recently collecting.

  “God?” she wheezed.

  He cocked his head to the side as if he didn’t understand.

  She tried to lift her arm, but he held it down. His hands were covering hers, palm to palm. He tilted his head to the other side, and more tingling heat pulsed through her skin. The pain in her chest receded.

  The boy peered down at her in open curiosity, similar to the way she’d seen her dog do when he spotted an insect crawling through the grass.

  “Who are you?” Abbie whispered, realizing the boy had saved her life.

  He glanced up at something in the distance before returning his gaze to her once again. She wondered if maybe he didn’t speak English, and pulled one of her hands free of his to point at herself. “Abbie.”

  “Abbie,” he repeated in a strange accent.

  “Yes.” She touched her finger to his chest. “And your name?”

  Shouts could be heard over the crashing of the waves, and the boy suddenly stilled. Abbie watched in wonder as he sprang away from her and dove into the water.

  She pushed up onto her elbows in time to see him swim out toward the sandbar with the speed of a dolphin before disappearing from view altogether.

  “No, wait.” She rose to her knees at the edge of the gulf. Her gaze flew over every wave of the rolling water, but there was no sign of her angel. Fear gripped her, and she forced herself forward. She had to find him.

  “Abbie!” Her father’s terrified voice shouted in the distance. “Abbie, sweetheart, don’t move! Daddy’s coming.”

  How could the boy stay under the water so long? she wondered, searching the sandbar and beyond for signs of her angel.

  Henry was suddenly there, scooping her up into his arms. “Somebody call 911.”

  “Daddy, we have to help him.” Abbie tried to wriggle free, but he only held on tighter.

  “Help who, sweetie?”

  “The boy.”

  Her father turned in a half circle, scanning the beach without slowing his steps. “What boy?”

  “The one who pulled me out of the water.”

  “There’s no one there, honey. And don’t ever scare me like that again.”

  He began to run toward the dunes where a small crowd flocked in their direction with cell phones in hand.

  “Is she all right?” an older woman with bright red lipstick yelled as she stumbled along the sand. But Abbie was no longer listening.

  She twisted her head around, frantically searching for the boy who had magically disappeared in the great pool of God’s tears.

  Chapter one

  Twenty-five years later

  “You really should eat better, young lady. Your mother would have my ass if she were alive to see some of the dreadful things you consume.”

  Abbie hid a smile at her father’s scolding. “I’m thirty-two years old, Henry. I doubt she would go all June Cleaver on me.”

  “You shouldn’t call me Henry, you little brat. It makes me sound old and boring.”

  “If the toupee fits.” They both laughed a moment before falling into a comfortable silence.

  Abbie’s mother had died from cancer twenty-five years earlier, and Henry had never remarried. He hid his loneliness behind a mask of indifference and immersed himself wholly in his work.

  Being the lead epidemiologist for Winchester Industries had become Henry’s proverbial crutch, and he spent entirely too much time alone at the lab.

  Abbie worried about him constantly and planned evenings such as the one they had tonight to spend quality time together. It didn’t always work. She knew he saw her mother every time he looked into his daughter’s eyes. The exact replica of the only woman he’d ever loved.

  The trill of a phone broke the silence, and her father excused himself to take the call.

  Work, no doubt, Abbie thought, taking a bite of the burger she’d just made to her liking.

  He reappeared a moment later with a guilty look in his eyes. “That was the lab, honey. They need me to come in.”

  “What could be so important that it can’t wait until morning?”

  He avoided her gaze. “I’m not sure, but I’ll call you later. Don’t wait up. It’s going to be a late night.”

  Something in his voice kicked her curiosity up a notch. He never could hide things well, and the whole no eye contact? Yeah, he was definitely keeping something from her.

  “I’ll come with you.” She pushed her plate aside and stood.

  “Nonsense. Stay and eat your heart attack on a bun. You worked a twelve-hour shift at the hospital today.”

  Abbie had worked at Winchester Industries with her father for several years and often assisted him in the lab before she’d been unceremoniously laid off due to supposed budget cuts.

  She knew the higher ups had purposefully kept things from her during her time working in the lab, but whatever Henry hid from her now had to be awfully big for him to outright lie to his only daughter.

  And she had no doubt he evaded the truth by the way his left eye twitched. That little trademark had always given him away. “What are you not telling me?”

  He pursed his lips. “Okay, you got me. I didn’t want to have to say this, honey, but you are adopted.”

  A chuckle bubbled up before she could stop it. She stood on tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the chin. “That explains a whole hell of a lot.”

  “You look so much like your mother, Abbigail. She had the same hazel eyes and dark hair. Her butt wasn’t quite as big though.”

  Abbie playfully smacked him on the arm before stepping back. “I inherited the infamous booty from you, Henry.”

  She knew he didn’t like her to call him Henry any more than she appreciated him referring to her as Abbigail. They were incorrigible teases, but it was their way.

  “I really do have to run, sweetie.”

  “At least let me pack up your food to take with you, or you won’t eat.”

  He nodded and began gathering his work paraphernalia while she bagged up his dinner.

  What are you up to, Henry?

  Abbie followed him to the car and held the door open as he deposited his things on the passenger seat.

  “You are welcome to stay here tonight, Abbie. Jax would love the company.”

  “I probably will. If I leave, I’ll feed him before I go.”

  He gave her a two-finger salute and slid behind the wheel.

  Abbie stepped back as the door closed and the eng
ine roared to life. He backed out of the drive without another glance in her direction.

  She waited until his tail lights disappeared around the corner before going back inside to put food out for Jax. He followed her around with a rubber ball in his mouth, bumping into her legs. The big German shepherd had been with Henry for nearly ten years and had become part of the family.

  “You know what’s going on, don’t you, boy?”

  His tail wagged in response from the attention.

  “Wanna give me a clue? No? I didn’t think so. You are a male after all.” She snagged the ball from his jaws and tossed it across the room, grinning as he bounded after it.

  After a quick shower, Abbie brushed her teeth and strolled to her old bedroom in search of something to wear. Henry kept the room exactly as Abbie had left it before she’d gone off to college, right down to the blue pom-poms hanging from the bedpost.

  She dressed in a pair of jeans and a black tank top, pulled her long dark hair back in a ponytail, and made haste cleaning up the mess from their earlier dinner.

  Grabbing her keys, she switched off the lights and left the house.

  Abbie marched to her car with determined steps. Something was up, and she’d be damned if she would remain behind to play the docile daughter while her father hid things from her.

  You’re too overprotective, Henry. Just because I have breasts doesn’t mean I’m fragile. She had no doubt that if she’d been born a male the passenger seat of his car would have housed her ass when he’d left.

  * * * *

  Abbie pulled into the parking lot of Winchester Industries and switched off the engine.

  Her father’s car sat in its reserved spot in front of a sign that read H. Sutherland. She grabbed the registration to her vehicle from the glove box, exited the car, and glanced up at the camera situated on the corner of the building.

  Security would be a piece of cake. She did, however, need to figure out a believable reason for being here in the first place without alerting Henry to her presence.

  The evening security guard waved from his perch behind a small, less than clean window. Smudges on the glass blurred his smile, but she couldn’t mistake the shiny gold tooth displayed so proudly from its position in the front of his mouth.

  The door buzzed once, and a click told her the lock had released. She pulled it open and stepped inside.

  “Hi, Willie. How are you this evening?”

  Willie had been one of her favorite night watchmen. His uniform always appeared clean, neatly creased, and he smelled nice. The badge he wore shone perfectly to match the bald spot on top of his head. He had a toothy grin for everyone and a heart of gold.

  “Doing good, Miss Abbie. What brings you out here?”

  “Henry forgot an important piece of his work.” She held up the folded car registration before quickly tucking it into the pocket of her jeans.

  “I hate it when that happens. My wife is always harping at me about how forgetful I’m getting. I reckon she’s right. It’s hell getting old.”

  He glanced suspiciously at the pocket she’d tucked the paper into. “He must be working on something pretty big to bring you down here at this hour. It’s almost nine o’clock.”

  Abbie inwardly groaned. She hated like hell lying to Willie, but left with little choice, lying was exactly what she did.

  “He’s working on some antimicrobial susceptibility tests, and they called him in to straighten out a mix-up in results. It could be the fact that he used the gradient diffusion method instead of—”

  Willie laughed, effectively cutting her off. “Okay, Miss Abbie. You lost me back at antimicro…something.” He waved her on. “Tell him not to work too hard.”

  “Have a good night, Willie. Tell that beautiful wife of yours I’m ready for more of her fried chicken.”

  “I sure will.” He beamed.

  He touched her arm as she turned to go. “Wait. Dr. Sutherland left his dinner down here when he signed in. Do you want to take it up to him on your way through? If not, I can buzz him and let him know it’s here.”

  Abbie ground her teeth. If he picked up the phone, Willie would spill the beans without realizing it. The man loved to talk.

  “Yes, thank you. I’ll take it.” She caught sight of a keycard peeking out from under some papers on Willie’s desk and quickly snagged it when he bent to retrieve Henry’s dinner from under the counter. She stuffed the card into her back pocket.

  He straightened and handed her the bag. “Here you go, Miss Abbie.”

  “See you, Willie.” She winked at him and hurried off down the hall.

  The cameras strategically placed along the corners of the ceiling made her nervous. If anyone involved in whatever Henry worked on recognized her, they would surely sound the alarm.

  Abbie knew Winchester Industries pushed the limits and sometimes experimented with drugs not previously approved by the FDA. But whatever her father had rushed to the lab for had nothing to do with illegal testing. He wouldn’t have been asked to come back in for that alone. No, this was definitely something bigger.

  To increase her chances of staying under the radar, Abbie bypassed the elevator for the stairs. Taking them two at a time, she stopped at the door to the second floor. With a slight tug, it cracked open enough that she could see into the hallway. She stood there for several heartbeats, listening for any sound, and then slipped quietly into the corridor.

  Male laughter rang out up ahead, and Abbie stilled. Damn. Are they guarding the lab?

  She glanced up at a camera in the corner. Monitors were installed in every office throughout the building, along with the security hub. The longer she stood in the open, the higher her chances were of being seen.

  After a moment, the voices grew faint, signaling the men had headed off in the opposite direction. She blew out a breath she’d been holding and crept silently forward.

  Noticing the door to the lab was closed when she rounded the corner, she quickly fished out the keycard from her back pocket and slid it effortlessly through the vertical groove situated next to the doorjamb. The green light activated right on cue, and she cringed as a click sounded loud enough to startle a sloth.

  The predictable sounds of a lab in use met her ears as she eased the door open and entered her father’s domain. He obviously hadn’t heard the lock disengage over the consistent beeps and humming of the equipment surrounding him.

  Abbie took in the room with a quick glance, noticing a big pair of feet hanging off the end of a bed her father stood next to.

  Her heart began to pound as she crept farther inside. The closer she got the more confused she became. It was definitely a man lying on the bed; only, she’d never seen one that size in her lifetime.

  A sheet covered his lower body from waist to ankles, leaving his upper half bare. His chest appeared devoid of hair and stood off the bed about two feet. He was massive and had to be at least six foot ten by her estimation.

  Warmth enveloped Abbie as her gaze slid to the stranger’s face. Beautiful would be a gross understatement.

  He had a smooth, strong jaw that angled up to slightly pointed ears. Pointed ears? His dark hair lay haphazardly tousled on the pillow. Full lips and a faintly crooked nose made up the rest of his face. She wondered what color his eyes were.

  Without conscious thought, she inched forward on shaky legs. Why would they have him here? Is he sick? Contagious? It didn’t matter as long as she could stand there and drink him in.

  Her father must have sensed her approach. He stiffened a second before spinning around. “What are you doing here?” He seemed more nervous than angry.

  “I could ask you the same thing. What’s going on, Henry?” She nodded toward the incapacitated stranger taking up far too much bed.

  “You have to leave. Now.”

  Anger surged. “What is that man doing here? This isn’t a hospital, so don’t bullshit me.”

  “Honey, please. You’re not supposed to be here. You need to go home
. Now. I’ll explain it all in the morning.” He glanced toward to door several times as he spoke.

  “Not until you tell me the truth.”

  He took a deep breath and pinned her with an impatient stare. “Fine. But then you must go.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  Chapter Two

  Abbie stared at her father as he attempted to explain away the man’s presence with some fabricated tale.

  “This is all I know. It…” Her father took a deep breath and started again. “It washed up on the beach a few hours ago. Newman called me in to run some tests before they extradite the corpse to Area 51.”

  “Wait.” Abbie held up a hand when he would have continued. “Newman, the CEO of Winchester Industries? And it?”

  He hesitated. “It’s not human, Abbie. I don’t know what it is, but I need to get these samples taken before the crew from Area 51 arrives. You have to go. No one else is to know about this.”

  “Not human? That’s impossible.” Other than the stranger’s size and pointed ears, he appeared the same as any other man. “And how did he get here?”

  Henry turned to a computer near the head of the bed and tapped a few keys. The screen came out of hibernation within seconds to display what looked to be a chest X-ray.

  “Someone ran across the thing on the beach. Apparently it drowned somehow and floated up on shore. Local PD had the creature sent to the morgue, and Newman had it delivered here. He told the police this was a Hazmat situation and needed ‘him’ contained until they cleared the scene. No one questioned Newman since he owns the hospital and this lab. The cops had no idea it was an alien.”

  “Why would they think he’s not human? Did the coroner open him up and find a little green man in residence?” She would have rolled her eyes if the situation didn’t already resemble a Twilight Zone episode.

  “Come look at this.”

  Abbie stood next to her father to gaze at the unbelievable evidence of a six-chambered heart. It took a moment to register what she was looking at, but there was no mistaking it.

  “How is that possible? I’ve never seen anything like it. Do you know what this means?” Her voice sounded strained to her own ears.